Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Reading grades D overall, 1010th among Pennsylvania's 1032 graded towns, mostly because of health and schools. CDC estimates put its residents' health behind 97% of the country. Its schools rank behind 96% of the state's. In its favor, it has 55 miles of trail. History is its standout character grade: an A+, better than 100% of U.S. towns, with 31 places on the National Register. 29% of residents live below the poverty line in Reading, where Pennsylvania’s towns sit at 7.6% and U.S. towns at 9.6%. Its National Register listings include Askew Bridge and Reading Hardware Company Butt Works. Only 129 of Pennsylvania’s 1,749 towns score lower on incomes.
Where Reading beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
Its 31 National Register listings are more than in 99% of Pennsylvania towns with a listing.
Census counts: 2,225 in 1790, 95,112 in 2020. The archive holds 18 old photos and papers going back to 1800 and 8 maps from 1894 on.
Reading takes its name from Reading in Berkshire, England, 3,520 miles across the Atlantic.
UKUK editionReading, settled in 1748, takes its name from Reading, a city in Berkshire, England.
1 more U.S. town is named after Reading:Reading, MA25,803
Named after: each U.S. town’s Wikipedia article. Grades compare each town with towns in its own country, so they aren’t a head-to-head.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Pennsylvania), ordered by how far Reading is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Reading. Close and well known come first.
39 mi Theme parkHersheypark3.0M visitors a year
26 mi Theme parkDorney Park & Wildwater Kingdomin town Stadium & arenaSovereign Center
35 mi GardenLongwood Gardens
27 mi Theme parkDutch Wonderland
18 mi MuseumEphrata CloisterHersheypark: Michael Gray, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Dorney Park & Wildwater Kingdom: Coasterman1234 at en.wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Longwood Gardens: P. Hughes, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Dutch Wonderland: FlugKerl2, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Ephrata Cloister: 1549bcp at English Wikipedia, Public domain
Who provides power, water and the rest in Reading, and how to reach them.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024.
Ordered by what stands out in Reading.
Reading is safe by national standards but not by Pennsylvania’s; it also has poverty well above the Pennsylvania rate and scores below Muhlenberg Township and its other neighbors on health.
Mount Penn Preserve, at 542 acres with 19.3 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve. 36 parks and preserves cover 1,025 acres in Reading.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Mount Penn Preserve | 19.3 mi | 542 |
| 2. Neversink Mountain Preserve | 6.1 mi | 154 |
| 3. City Park | 2.9 mi | 39 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Each of its 6 graded neighbors has a higher School Grade than that grade, West Reading highest at B+.
Of its 26 schools, two are listed below, each with the reason. Reading SD runs its public schools. 6 public schools serve Reading, with 3,862 students in all.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Central MSLargest public middle schoolGrades 5–8 | Grades 5–8 | 1,785 | D− |
| Reading SHSLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 4,879 | D |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within PA on state tests and graduation
All 6 graded neighbors score healthier than its D−, from Muhlenberg Township (B−) to Wyomissing (A).
The share of adults in Reading who have obesity: 43%. Among 1,035 Pennsylvania towns, just 2 have a higher share of adults who get no exercise outside work than Reading. CDC measures, 26 in all: Reading beats Pennsylvania on 1 and trails on 14.
| Reading | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 33% | 19% | 19% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 38% | 24% | 25% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 47% | 38% | 36% |
| No health insurance, 18–64 (CDC PLACES) | 24% | 6.9% | 8.1% |
| What stands out | Reading | PA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults who have had cancer | 5.3% | 8.8% |
| More uninsured adults | 24.2% | 5.8% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Among working residents in Reading, 15% work locally. Between 2013 and 2023, jobs in Reading dropped by 3,674, to 25,056. Its income of the median household comes in at $44,000. The top destinations are Muhlenberg Township (8%), Maxatawny Township (5%) and Wyomissing (4%).
| Reading | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $44,000 | $81,000 | $80,000 |
| Work from home | 6.4% | 12% | 11% |
| Working residents who work in town | 15% | 6.3% | 8% |
| Average trip to work | 24 minutes | 26 minutes | 25 minutes |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
At 28.7 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports more crime than 86% of Pennsylvania’s graded towns. Reported crimes fell from 2,101 to 1,527 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
The level of property crime in Reading is 12.8 per 1,000 residents. The violent offense rate locally is 2.6 per 1,000 residents.
| Reading | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 2.6 per 1,000 residents | 0.7 | 1.6 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 12.8 per 1,000 residents | 5.7 | 9.9 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Households in Reading have drawn federal disaster aid in 2 declared disasters, most recently in 2011. Storm and flood damage is expected to run lower than in just over three fifths of U.S. communities. Since 1978, Reading has seen 88 flood insurance claims paid out. Expected losses in Reading break down as 55% from inland flooding and 9% from cold waves.
FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Home values rose 43% in five years, to about $263K, against 23% across Pennsylvania. 60.4% of renter households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, against 48.2% across Pennsylvania.
For households in Reading, the share who are owner-occupiers is 41%. Home values are up 3.8% over the year to September 2026. A home in Reading typically sold within 10 days of listing.
| Reading | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 41% | 78% | 73% |
| Renters paying 30%+ of income on rent | 60% | 44% | 48% |
| Median rent | $1,067 a month | $1,116 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
5 within 15 miles of the center of Reading
About 6 of every 100 Reading residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Pennsylvania.
16.6% of the town is conserved land, across 36 parks and preserves.
31 places in Reading on the National Register of Historic Places.
34 notable people were born in Reading.
City in Pennsylvania, US
Reading ( RED-ing; Pennsylvania German: Reddin) is a city in Berks County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. The city had a population of 95,112 at the 2020 census and is the fourth-most populous city in Pennsylvania after Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, and Allentown. Reading is located in the southeastern part of the state, 38.8 miles (62.4 km) southwest of Allentown and 50 miles (80 km) northwest of Philadelphia. It is the principal city of the Greater Reading area, which had 420,152 residents in 2020. Reading gave its name to the now-defunct Reading Company, also known as the Reading Railroad and since acquired by Conrail, that played a vital role in transporting anthracite co…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
10 towns share a border with Reading.
All 6 graded towns on its borders grade higher than its D; Muhlenberg Township (C) is closest. Cumru Township next door grades higher for schools (B− to Reading’s D−) and lower for cost of living (C to B).
| Town | PA rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reading | #1010 | D | B | C | D− | D− |
| Cumru Township | #584 | B | C | — | B− | B+ |
| West Reading | #713 | B− | C | C− | B+ | B |
| Grill | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Kenhorst | #330 | A− | B | — | B− | B |
| Wyomissing | #613 | B | D | C+ | B | A |
| Muhlenberg Township | #844 | C | C | B− | C | B− |
| Lower Alsace Township | #677 | B− | C+ | — | C− | B+ |
Cumru Township, Kenhorst and Lower Alsace Township report no FBI crime data of their own. Grill isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Reading with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Reading grades D overall, better than 8% of U.S. towns and #1010 of 1032 in Pennsylvania. It grades D− for health, C for safety and D− for schools. Health is its weak spot, with a D−.
That is 3.3 years of the area's median household income ($79,777 across the Reading, PA metro area). Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B.
34 notable people were born here, including John Updike and Wallace Stevens.
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